Winter photography in Butte County: Another image from the Gray Lodge Wildlife Area

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On January 15, 2024, I decided to spend another day looking for photographs for my project on California’s “Central Valley”. In the beginning of this year, I wrote a previous post with another image from the same day.

Located in Northern California’s Central Valley, the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex (SNWR) is a vital sanctuary for countless migratory birds. Covering over 10,000 acres, it provides essential habitat along the Pacific Flyway, hosting waterfowl, shorebirds, and raptors year-round. Among its units is the Gray Lodge Wildlife Area (GLWA).

Spanning more than 9,100 acres, Gray Lodge serves as a crucial refuge for migratory birds navigating the Pacific Flyway, one of North America’s primary migration routes. Its diverse landscape of wetlands, seasonal marshes, and riparian habitats supports a wide variety of bird species. Renowned not just for its size, the area is celebrated as an essential resting and feeding ground for avian travelers on their arduous journeys.

The FEATURED IMAGE

It was so foggy when I approached the Gray Lodge Area that I might not have gotten there wasn’t for the GPS. At first, I thought I had wasted my time, but as I traversed the auto-tour, I began to see, here and there, a few photos. There were few birds and they weren’t doing much of anything.

The FEATURED IMAGE ( f/5.6, 1/1250 ISO 360 @240mm), repeated below for convenience, portrays ducks and flying geese against the willows in the background, amidst very dense fog. Dense fog is a characteristic of the Central Valley in the winter. I like the mystery and quiet of this photograph.lick on the image below to enlarge.

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8 responses to “Winter photography in Butte County: Another image from the Gray Lodge Wildlife Area”

  1. Steve Schwartzman Avatar

    Fog makes photographs appealing by causing objects to seem lighter the farther away they are, as is the case here if we compare the almost black trunks in the foreground to the willows in the distance. The flying birds (except for the ones farthest back) are shades of grey in between those two extremes, and therefore they stand out.

    (The link for the previous post cycles back to this one. The photograph at the end isn’t clickable.)

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Alessandra Chaves Avatar

      Thank you. I’ll fix it.

      Like

  2. shoreacres Avatar

    The fog is lovely, but I especially like the way you’ve captured the birds’ wings in so many different positions. It gives a certain vibrancy to an image quieted by the fog; the sense of movement is palpable.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Alessandra Chaves Avatar

      Thank you for your thoughtful input

      Liked by 1 person

  3. howg2211 Avatar
    howg2211

    I love photographing in and taking photos of…fog. This one really exudes a quiet peacefulness!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Alessandra Chaves Avatar

      Yes, the fog is silent and quiet.

      Like

  4. tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles Avatar

    That featured image is dreamy!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Alessandra Chaves Avatar

      Yes, it’s the effect of the fog.

      Liked by 1 person

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